After the Epilogue
by frostykitten
Summary: One shot. Hermione and Ron await the birth of their second child, but things aren't as peaceful as they'd hoped.


**A/N: I'm always too hard on Ron, so this was kind of an experiment to write ... Ronmione? Is that the pairing? Anyway, it was going to be a drabble, but got a little long for that. I was pleased with the result. I hope you like it!**

**~Frosty**

Eight and a half months pregnant and ballooned out like a whale, Hermione hadn't been pleased to hear that the office was in chaos without her there. Sure, she was a bit bossy with her employees, but she liked to believe that she'd taught them to think for themselves. Apparently she'd thought too much of them, an oversight she was going to correct as soon as her maternity leave was finished.

Ron, determined not to miss the birth of his second child after being out of the country on Auror business when his daughter had arrived three weeks early, was taking some time off of work to help his wife with Rose. It was lucky he was home, because that meant Hermione was able to host a number of her coworkers in their dining room to discuss a few of the more pressing matters from the office.

The telltale clanking of delicate porcelain announced the arrival of Ron with a tray of tea for everyone. His heart was in the right place, but something about so much delicate dishware in his hands seemed to unfailingly make his feet tangle together or trip over the smallest things. Hermione couldn't count the number of tea cups Ron had broken because he'd tried to bring her tea.

She had her wand out and ready, catching the teacups in midair and saving one of her employees from being doused in scalding liquid.

"Sorry, 'Mione," Ron said, abashed. He set the tray down beside her, making sure that she had her favourite teacup before pushing the tray roughly towards the rest of the people assembled at their kitchen table.

He resented their presence, thinking that they should be leaving Hermione alone to relax and let the baby grow without the stress of work. In his mind, they didn't deserve tea, but he knew Hermione would be wanting some and that she'd be disappointed in him if he didn't bring enough for everyone. It was only polite.

"Thank you," Hermione said with an absently sweet smile that made his effort worth the trouble.

Ron kissed the top of her head and went to check on their sleeping daughter. He knew better than to try and distract Hermione from her work. She got snappish when he interrupted her serious study time and it was worse when she was all hormonal.

Sipping her tea, Hermione finished flipping through her packet of notes and looked around at the five employees assembled around her kitchen table.

"Let's get this over with," Hermione said, not making any effort to hide her disappointment in her employees. "I'd like to be finished before my daughter wakes up from her nap."

An hour into the meeting with almost everything covered, Hermione was directing everyone to turn to the last page of their instruction packets when a strange, garbled yelp echoed through the house.

"Is that you daughter?" one of the men asked curiously, staring towards the stairs.

Hermione shook her head. "No, that's Ron's spider yell. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have to go deal with this; it'll only escalate if I don't get the spider for him."

The men shared bewildered looks as Hermione stormed off, yelling. "Ronald Weasley, for the last time, you're a bloody _wizard!_ Try _using your wand_!"

"Faced down Death Eaters when he was a teenagers and hardened criminals daily at work, but a spider in the house and he screams for his pregnant wife to come and protect him," she grumbled to herself on the long trip up the stairs. She wasn't exactly fleet on her feet with all of the extra weight she was carrying.

By the time Hermione had waddled up the stairs, Ron had regained his composure and was glaring ferociously at what appeared to be a life-sized, plush Acromantula.

She took in the situation; Ron and the giant fake spider, the frightened owl sitting in the windowsill, and the wrappings from a small package on the floor. Any further investigation was stalled when Rose started wailing in the next room.

"Get rid of that spider before your daughter sees it. You know how she feels about spiders." Hermione edged around the spider and went to calm the crying baby.

"The same way any reasonable person feels about the things," Ron grumbled as he shrunk the spider down to the size it had been before he opened the package and it had burst out at him in a flash growth that had it life size almost instantly. The effect was that the spider seemed to lunge right at him and had very nearly stopped his heart.

Not comfortable with the thing anywhere in his house, Ron opened a window and threw it on the front lawn. He could burn the thing later.

It would certainly be a while before he was willing to open a package. Hermione would have to be the one to-

Ron frowned as he realized that Hermione could have been the one to open that package. She sometimes didn't check who the mail was addressed to before she opened it because she knew that Ron didn't care if she saw packages addressed to him before he did. He usually showed her at some point anyway.

There was definitely going to be hell to pay the next time Ron saw George. He'd think on it for a while before telling their Mum was George had done. Bringing Molly into the equation was definitely not something that was done in haste.

Hermione came back out of the baby's room with Rose balanced on her hip. "What did you say to George this time?"

Glancing down, Ron quickly stepped on the telltale purple card that had fallen out of the box, displaced by the sudden growth of the spider.

"Nothing. I haven't even been to see George recently."

"Uncle George!" Rose said, perking up at the mention of her favourite uncle. "No tell Mommy see Uncle George!" She put her finger to her mouth in an exaggerated mimic of a silencing gesture.

Hermione looked at Ron, who was shifting.

"Shouldn't you get back to your work?" he asked innocently. Ron really didn't want his wife to know that he'd had their daughter at his brother's house, somewhere Ron had promised not to take Rosie after she came back with a duck bill transfigured on her face the last time.

"I married a child," Hermione grumbled on her way back down the stairs.

Ron lifted the giggling Rose in front of him and pressed their noses together, something that made her screech with delight.

"It's better to be childish that always buried in a boring book, isn't it, Rosie?"

Her answer was more giggles. She was in a remarkably good mood considering her nap had been cut short with his shout. Ron didn't even want to think about what his little girl's reaction would have been if she'd seen the spider.

Just the thought solidified his decision to write to his Mum about what George had done. Molly would dish out a hundred times the retribution that Ron could have managed himself.

"Snack?"

"Sure, Rosie. Let's go get a snack. You can eat your cookies while Daddy writes a letter to grandma."

**The End.**


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